Most people are familiar with Jazz musicians such as Louis Armstrong and Count Basie, but how much of the background of this latest popular genre is really known besides that of the musicians? Jazz originated some time at the end of the century in the cultural center of the United States, New Orleans, Louisiana. New Orleans is a city with many different types of people, all squished on top of each other. There are people from France and French creoles living in the same buildings with whites and people of Spanish heritage, next door to blacks, and across the street from Italians and Germans. And all these people share the love of song and dance. They dance and play music whenever and wherever they feel like it (American), and they all play their different kinds of music. Or at least they did until the styles all blended together into one new type of music. Little by little the different styles of music meshed together to form a style that sounded like a mix of ragtime, blues (American), the marching band sounds of brass (Alexander), and lots of less distinctive genres, combining to form what was once known as “hot blues” (American). As this style grew into what we know today, it became something unlike anything we’d ever heard before. It is also near impossible to duplicate because the bigger Jazz musicians can’t even read music, but simply play what they feel should come next. The sheet music is just the very broad sketch of the piece (Alexander): it’s up to the musicians to make it into a masterpiece. So there’s never a dull moment for Jazz listeners, as this new rhythm of music promises to be around for a long time to come.
The Background Behind the Beat
By CarolynMost people are familiar with Jazz musicians such as Louis Armstrong and Count Basie, but how much of the background of this latest popular genre is really known besides that of the musicians? Jazz originated some time at the end of the century in the cultural center of the United States, New Orleans, Louisiana. New Orleans is a city with many different types of people, all squished on top of each other. There are people from France and French creoles living in the same buildings with whites and people of Spanish heritage, next door to blacks, and across the street from Italians and Germans. And all these people share the love of song and dance. They dance and play music whenever and wherever they feel like it (American), and they all play their different kinds of music. Or at least they did until the styles all blended together into one new type of music. Little by little the different styles of music meshed together to form a style that sounded like a mix of ragtime, blues (American), the marching band sounds of brass (Alexander), and lots of less distinctive genres, combining to form what was once known as “hot blues” (American). As this style grew into what we know today, it became something unlike anything we’d ever heard before. It is also near impossible to duplicate because the bigger Jazz musicians can’t even read music, but simply play what they feel should come next. The sheet music is just the very broad sketch of the piece (Alexander): it’s up to the musicians to make it into a masterpiece. So there’s never a dull moment for Jazz listeners, as this new rhythm of music promises to be around for a long time to come.
Works Cited
Alexander, Scott. "History of Jazz Before 1930." The Red Hot Jazz Archive. 10 Oct. 2007 <http://www.redhotJazz.com/>.
"American Experience: New Orleans." PBS. 1 Dec. 2006. 10 Oct. 2007 <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/neworleans/program/neworleans_08.html>.